Mountain Hiking

by Harold Sears

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Fairgrounds Pond was partially ice-covered. Ducks floated in flocks and a thin border of snow rimmed the shore. I walked 0.3 mi. clockwise around the lake to a second trailhead located on Hover Rd. and continued north to the St. Vrain Greenway Trail, which runs along St. Vrain Creek from Golden Ponds, to the west, over to Sandstone Ranch, to the east, a total of 8 miles.

First, I turned left, walked under Hover Rd., and entered the area of Golden Ponds. There must be 8 or 10 ponds, some publicly accessible and some on private property, most south of the creek and a few on the north side. Trails completely encircle some of the ponds. Canada geese were standing quietly on the ice. There are picnic pavilions and scattered benches for contemplation.

This is a popular and busy area, even on a rather gray day. There were leisurely walkers here, arm-swinging striders there, a jogger, a rollerblader, a family of four on bikes, a mom with her tiny boy on a tiny bike, and a dog walker laughing into her cell phone. A mom in dark purple sat on the bank of the creek while several boys ran up and down, calling to one other. Another mom with girls strolled by. A dad and his son skipped rocks across the ice -- there was certainly a greater chance of skipping success today than on summer's open water.

I returned to Fairgrounds Pond and continued east. The St. Vrain Greenway Trail is a paved bike path, but there are lots of dirt loops over to the creek and back. There were sparkling riffles and icy eddies. A small hawk was perched high in a tree top.

I came to an intersection and a footbridge. To the right, I could walk over to the fairgrounds, and to the left, I crossed the creek and continued downstream. I passed trail art, sculpture cast in metal -- a willow catkin, a beetle antenna, and a protein molecule. I walked under South Sunset St. and up to Isaac Walton Pond. This trail is part of the Colorado Front Range Trail, which will ultimately extend from Trinidad, at the border of New Mexico, up through Ft. Collins to the Wyoming border.

Many new trees have been planted; with time, this walk will be better and better. Geese were grazing and another group paddling. I passed under Boston Ave. and finally reached a large Sundial and the 0-mile marker for the St. Vrain trail system, at South Pratt Parkway and Boston Ave. There is parking here, too, along the south side of Boston Ave.

Another day, I walked east from the Sundial. The trail goes under the parkway, across to the south side of the creek, under Main St. (287), and back over the creek again to Willow, Heron, and Kingfisher Ponds. I passed a prairie-dog colony that chirped loudly in indignation. A long freight train slowly lumbered by just across the way.

I walked out of the pond area and across the creek again, now about 1 mile from the Sundial and about 4 miles from Sandstone Ranch, the eastern terminus of the trail. I walked under Martin St. and along a long, looping curve back to the west. Here, the St. Vrain Greenway trail continues east, but I turned west into the Lefthand Creek Greenway. This trail passes between the creek on the right and farmland to the left. Longs Peak is massive to the northwest.

I passed Kanemoto Park with its pagoda-like Tower of Compassion, promoting love, empathy, understanding, gratitude, and generosity. High above, I watched a neat "V" of maybe 50 geese honking past and one lone goose rushing to catch up. There are suburban back yards, bird houses, squirrel nests high in bare branches, bike-path sculpture, and the path ends at the city sidewalk of South Sunset St.

I returned to the intersection of St. Vrain and Lefthand. Again, the St. Vrain trail continues east, through farmland and grassland over to Sandstone Ranch. This recreational area has road access and parking on 119. There are paved walks, ponds, playgrounds ,and sports fields -- and a trail loop on a high grassy tableland. It was a cold, windy day, but I was impressed with the broad overlook (Longs Peak and the rest of the back range) and with the sandstone cliffs with fossils.

Fairgrounds Pond

A walkway across one of the Golden Ponds

St. Vrain Creek

Longs Peak to the west

A view from high on Sandstone Ranch

From Boulder, take the Diagonal Highway, 119, NE to Longmont. Turn N on Hover Rd. Pass Nelson Rd., and at Rogers Rd., turn right on Boston Ave. and then left into trailhead parking at Fairgrounds Pond. Or continue on Hover to Roger's Grove trailhead, on the right side of Hover just before St. Vrain Creek.

To begin at the Sundial, continue on 119, 1.6 mi. past Hover, to Ken Pratt Blvd (still 119). Turn left on South Pratt Parkway, drive 0.4 mi. and turn left on Boston Ave. Park on left side of road.

There are trail maps posted all along the way, or click on the above thumbnails. An extensive trail map for all of Boulder County is available from the Boulder Area Trails Coalition (link on home page).

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Cautionary Note -- If any of the hikes described on this site sound like something you would like to do yourself, please use good judgment and prepare yourself according to your skills, your interests, and the season. What was fun for me under one set of circumstances might not be fun or even safe for another under other circumstances. Do not consider these descriptions to be unqualified recommendations.